# When brushing your teeth... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 13, 2015, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900 "2015-03-13T11:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/21 "2015-03-13T15:28:33Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > None of the above. I stick my head under the faucet to get water in my mouth. … This. Anything else seems … weird, very complicated, and unnecessary. I agree not rinsing might be better for leaving more of the coating on the teeth, but the flavors are so detestable I can’t see not rinsing. Hell, I rinse thoroughly after using mouthwash; can’t stand the taste or burn of any of them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/22 "2015-03-13T15:31:09Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > … On a tangent, has anyone here ever tried putting a full bead of toothpaste on your brush like they show in toothpaste commercials? I did once when I was a kid and it was the grossest mouthful of paste! I had to spit most of it out before I could finish brushing. _Now I know they do that in commercials just because it shows off the product prettily_, but when I was a kid I figured they were the toothpaste experts so they would know how it should be applied. LOL! I think that was my first lesson in marketing 101. Italics mine. No, they do that because it demonstrates using about 10-15x as much as you need. And if just a few percent of users fall for that, they’ve doubled their sales. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/23 "2015-03-13T15:35:26Z")
A cup. A germ ridden disgusting never that clean cup that should have been thrown away 30 years ago. Doesn’t everyone? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/24 "2015-03-13T15:51:59Z")
I use a cupped hand. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > This. Anything else seems … weird, very complicated, and unnecessary. It would be way more complicated twist in a way that gets my head up to my bathroom faucet than to stick my hand under there. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/25 "2015-03-13T15:52:36Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > A cup. A germ ridden disgusting never that clean cup that should have been thrown away 30 years ago. Doesn’t everyone? I’ll admit I do. It’s pretty much the only culture I get. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/26 "2015-03-13T15:56:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > This. Anything else seems … weird, very complicated, and unnecessary. I agree not rinsing might be better for leaving more of the coating on the teeth, but the flavors are so detestable I can’t see not rinsing. Hell, I rinse thoroughly after using mouthwash; can’t stand the taste or burn of any of them. I am squicked out by the thought of not rinsing just because it’s not only toothpaste residue, it’s dirty mouth crud residue. I want a rinsed, fresh mouth. I’m also on the “stick my head under the faucet” team. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/27 "2015-03-13T16:06:00Z")
Head under faucet. It never occurred to me that anyone would use their hand. Barbarians. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/28 "2015-03-13T16:31:33Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > On a tangent, has anyone here ever tried putting a full bead of toothpaste on your brush like they show in toothpaste commercials? I wasted so much AquaFresh as a kid trying to get that perfect “swirl” of toothpaste on the brush. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/29 "2015-03-13T16:42:29Z")
Even though I’ll have a cup there for a rinse before I start I’ve been using my hand all my life and that’s what I’ll do when I’m done. Not worth changing the habit at this point. ---
**Author:** ![MrsTime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@MrsTime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrsTime)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/30 "2015-03-13T16:45:03Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > None of the above. I stick my head under the faucet to get water in my mouth. Our bathroom sink faucet doesn’t extend out far enough, not to mention I am not terribly tall at 5’6" but too tall to stoop that low if the faucet did extend far enough. I just use my cupped hand to rinse my mouth out after I take my teeth out for the night. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/31 "2015-03-13T16:51:15Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > None of the above. I stick my head under the faucet to get water in my mouth. > > . . . Yeah, just hold my lips tot he stream of water, and rinse my chin if there’s any foam on it. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/32 "2015-03-13T17:04:43Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Head under faucet. It never occurred to me that anyone would use their hand. > Barbarians. Yeah, I think enough of us do that that it should’ve been a poll option. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/33 "2015-03-13T17:08:42Z")
To be fair, brushing ones teeth has always been a sloppy process. From the back spray on the mirror to the dried paste (that you missed from last time) on the side of the sink. I don’t see sticking ones hand under the sink any more sloppy than that. ---
**Author:** ![May\_20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@May\_20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/May_20)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/34 "2015-03-13T17:12:12Z")
I use my hand to cup the water so that I can rinse my mouth. I can’t imagine not rinsing my mouth after brushing my teeth. I have to get all the foamy toothpaste gunk out of my mouth. I’ll use a cup if one is available, but I won’t make sure one is there before I start brushing my teeth. I like brushing my teeth in the shower, too, so I’ll rinse my mouth by catching water from the showerhead. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/35 "2015-03-13T17:58:46Z")
Brush, spit, rinse brush, use brush to clean off residual paste, spit, rinse brush, done. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/36 "2015-03-13T18:28:26Z")
Wow, I’m fascinated by all the different ways people rinse after brushing! Who woulda think? I’m happy to discover that apparently bending your head under the faucet is pretty common, because my husband does this and I’ve always found it SUPER weird and off-putting. Now I can just remind myself of this when I get squicked out. 😉 I just can’t conceive of personally doing this because if I don’t have it tied back, it’d be a pain making sure my hair didn’t slide down and get doused with water. I don’t actually rinse-rinse. I spit the toothpaste foam out and drink some water from The Bathroom Cup\* while rinsing the brush under running water. Then I either use leftover water in the cup or fill it a bit again to pour around the basin to rinse it out. - we rotate through several so they get cleaned frequently. It HAS to be plastic, though, so it doesn’t break if it gets knocked over. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/37 "2015-03-13T18:48:40Z")
Well, I have long hair, and it’s always tied back during the day, so the reaching-my-head-under-the-tap thing isn’t too much trouble. I usually untie my hair before going to bed, after I’ve brushed my teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/38 "2015-03-13T20:34:28Z")
I rinse, using a plastic cup. I’m not sure where the argument comes from that it’s wasteful. Because using a one-use paper cup? I can use the same plastic cup indefinitely long. They’re washable. ---
**Author:** ![minionkat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@minionkat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minionkat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/39 "2015-03-13T20:45:35Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > I put the toothbrush under the running water and transfer the water to my mouth a few times, swish, spit and done. Exactly this. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900/40 "2015-03-13T20:52:06Z")
I used to do it with my hand under the faucet, but that was when we had a faucet tall enough for that; at Mom’s parents it was always a glass because the only faucet tall enough was the one in the kitchen. Will use the hand if there are no glasses available. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-brushing-your-teeth/714900.md?page=3)